Elevated vitamin D levels in diurnally-active female fruit bats

Abstract

Animal species have evolved to enhance their survival by focusing their temporal activity on specific parts of the diurnal-nocturnal cycle. Various factors, including inter-specific competition and anti-predator behavior, as well as anthropogenic effects like light pollution, have prompted some species to expand or shift their temporal niches. Our study focuses on the temporal niche shift of the Egyptian fruit bat (Rousettus aegyptiacus) to diurnal activity in Israel.Through an extensive citizen-science study, we assessed the distribution of these bats’ diurnal activity across Israel. We also documented the sex and age of bats from a colony known for its diurnal activity and collected blood samples from them for metabolic analysis.Our findings indicate that the shift toward daytime activity predominantly takes place in urban settings and is mostly exhibited by females. We found a significant physiological effect of this temporal shift, namely: diurnal bats’ vitamin D levels were significantly higher, and their parathyroid hormone (PTH) levels were significantly lower than those of nocturnal bats.We suggest that the reproductive metabolic demands of female bats might be a key factor driving this shift to diurnal activity. We hypothesize that the increase in vitamin D, derived from sunlight hours, might play a crucial role in regulating calcium homeostasis, thus contributing to the bats’ physiological needs during the reproduction season.